A Dad by Any Other Name
by bloodmagik
Summary: Ben is sick and Dean stays home with him while Lisa is at work. Lisa learns something about Dean's relationship with Ben. This is my first fic so please bear with me while I figure out formatting on this site.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. I did ask for Dean for christmas but he never appeared under my tree. Maybe next year.

It's been four months and they have their Saturday routine down to a tee. Lisa teaches between ten and three leaving him to take Ben to baseball. He picks Ben up at twelve and they usually end up in the garage, tinkering under the hood of the Impala as he shows Ben how to change the headlight bulb and check the oil.

"Ben?" He's elbow-deep in dirty dishes and Ben is supposed to be getting ready for his baseball game. "Ten minutes, bud," he calls, stacking the last plate on the drying rack. He pulls the plug and leans his back against the counter as he fumbles behind himself for a towel to dry his hands on. He can hear Ben stomping around his room overhead and he follows the source of the noise as Ben moves into the hall and starts down the stairs. Ben's shirt is half tucked in and he's wearing only one shoe, dragging the other by the laces. "You got everything?" He asks as he goes to take the shoe from Ben, motioning for him to take a seat on the stairs and starting to work the laces loose. Ben nods, scrubbing a hand over his face as Dean ties his laces for him. "Let's hit the road then," he says and he heads towards the kitchen to get the keys for his truck.

He assumes that Ben is behind him until he hears "Dean?" followed by a strangled "one second," from the living room. He spins on his heels in time to see Ben retch and double over. _Shit, _he thinks as he hurries over to where Ben is hunched and breathing hard. He puts his hand on the back of Ben's neck and Ben slowly uncurls to look up at him. Dean can see the tears that are threatening to fall and hears gasps that are quickly turning into sobs. He kneels, brings his hand round to brush at Ben's bangs and cups his cheek, feeling the heat radiating from his skin. "It's okay, Ben," he says softly as he wipes a stray tear from Ben's cheek. "C'mon, dude. We'll get cleaned up and then we can hang out on the couch. Watch a few movies. Sound good?" He's got one hand on Ben's shoulder and the other on the small of his back, guiding him slowly into the hall. Ben sniffles and shrugs. Dean watches as Ben listlessly pushes himself up the stairs, waits until he's at the top before going to take care of the mess on the living room floor. _Thank God for tiles_, he thinks.

He's two-thirds of the way up the stairs when he hears the shower going off. Ben's uniform is on the floor of his room in a crumpled pile and he's tossing it in the hamper when Ben appears in the doorway. He's changed into a pair of sweats and an old AC/DC tee of Dean's that reaches his knees. His face is pale and he sways slightly as he looks up towards where Dean is standing. Dean wraps an arm around Ben's shoulders and doesn't remove it until he's getting Ben settled on the couch with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and instructions to "stay put".

The thermometer is hidden behind a half-empty bottle of Calpol and one of those plastic food containers, which is almost full to the brim with a selection of various pain meds. When he returns to the couch Ben has his face hidden, his shoulders hitching as he sobs quietly. "Ben?" He perches on the end of the couch next to the sobbing boy. "What's wrong, bud?" The answer is muffled by the blanket Ben is clutching to his face how a toddler holds a cherished teddy bear and Dean grasps his wrist. He pulls gently to reveal red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks. This time, he hears Ben say "I want Mom," and his heart sinks.


	2. Chapter 2

Previously:

_This time, he hears Ben say "I want Mom," and his heart sinks._

"I'm not awesome enough?" he deadpans. "You've got to admit, I'm pretty awesome." When that doesn't raise a smile, he sighs and digs his cell phone from his pocket. He turns to face Ben as he dials Lisa's number from memory and nods his head towards the other end of the couch. "Scoot over a bit." He settles himself in the gap between Ben and the arm of the couch while he waits to see if Lisa will pick up. It's three minutes past eleven and Lisa should be between classes. She picks up after the fourth ring and Dean can hear voices in the background screeching with laughter.

"Hey, sweetie, what's up?" She's slightly breathless, as if she's had to run to answer her phone. "Hey, yourself," he replies, as Ben burrows under his right arm and settles himself against Dean's chest, his head tucked into the curve between Dean's neck and shoulder. "Ben isn't feeling well. He's asking for you." His hand comes up to cup the back of Ben's neck and he feels Ben shift just that little bit closer to him. "Can he talk to me?" Lisa asks, and Dean relinquishes his phone. He can hear Lisa talking to Ben in the gentle tone she uses when he's over-tired and trying to pick a fight and she's attempting to make him see reason. Ben hands the phone back to him a minute later looking, if possible, even more miserable than before. "Dean," he hears Lisa saying, "Do I need to come home?" He snorts before he can stop himself. It's not like this is the first time he's had to look after a sick kid by himself. "No," he tells her. "We're gonna hang out, watch a movie or two. We'll be fine, won't we, Ben?" Ben is staring, glassy-eyed, at a spot on the wall above one of his school photographs. "Okay," she says, "Call me if you need anything. "

He presses a palm to Ben's forehead and winces at how hot he feels. He feels around on the side table for the thermometer that he dropped there not ten minutes earlier. His hand finds cool plastic and he turns back to Ben, brandishing it like a weapon. "C'mon, dude. I need to see how high you're running." He gives Ben a soft nudge when the display shows 103.6 and Ben uncurls himself from around Dean's right side. In the utility room he grabs a washcloth and wets it with tepid water before liberating the bottle of Calpol from the kitchen.

He puts a DVD into the DVD player and watches to make sure Ben swallows all of the medicine before he sits down and pulls Ben towards him. Ben's hand comes up to clutch at Dean's t-shirt and he nuzzles into Dean's chest as his breathing evens out and Dean feels his own breathing hitch and his heart swell. He drops his chin to kiss the top of the boy's head and is forced to blink hard to chase away tears that he will deny ever existed.

Lisa stops at the entrance to the living room to see Ben fast asleep, folded tightly into Dean's side and Dean running his fingers through the wispy strands of hair at the base of Ben's head. He doesn't see her and Lisa stays hidden in the shadows, taking the opportunity to watch them interact. She smiles to herself when Dean sighs and shifts, bringing Ben closer before turning his head so that her son is tucked under his chin. She wipes briskly at her eyes and she feels her throat constrict when she realizes just how much she wishes Ben was Dean's.

A/N: The idea for this came from Romeo and Juliet where Juliet says: "What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,"

It got me thinking about Dean's relationship with Ben and how he seems to treat Ben as his own even though he knows he's not Ben's real dad.

I'm not sure if I like the ending. I must have rewritten it four or five times before deciding on the one I did. What do we all think?


End file.
